The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival is right around the corner. The 46th edition of the festival runs from September 9-18. Today, the first wave of Gala and Special Selection premieres were announced. Opening the festival is Stephen Chbosky’s adaptation of the Broadway musical, Dear Evan Hansen. Meanwhile, Zhang Yimou’s One Second is set to close the festival.
Other confirmed films include Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, Walt Becker’s Clifford the Big Red Dog, Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, and Alison Klayman’s Jagged.
The full list of announced films can be found below:
Gala Presentations
Belfast
Directed by Kenneth Branagh | United Kingdom
Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds, Catríona Balfe, and Jamie Dornan star in Kenneth Branagh’s coming-of-age tale set amid the tumult of late-1960s Northern Ireland.
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Directed by Walt Becker | USA/United Kingdom/Canada
Norman Bridwell’s beloved illustrated series comes to life in this magical live-action tale starring Jack Whitehall, John Cleese, and Tony Hale.
Dear Evan Hansen (Opening Night Film)
Directed by Stephen Chbosky | USA
Julianne Moore and Ben Platt star in this adaptation of Steven Levenson’s Tony Award–winning musical about adolescence, grief, and transcendence.
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Directed by Will Sharpe | United Kingdom
An eccentric artist (Benedict Cumberbatch) introduces Victorian London to the delights of cats, in Will Sharpe’s enlightening biopic.
Jagged
Directed by Alison Klayman | USA
Alanis Morissette reflects on her 1990s rise to rock stardom, in this new documentary from Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry).
Last Night in Soho
Directed by Edgar Wright | United Kingdom
Edgar Wright wickedly reflects ’60s Swinging London in this kaleidoscopic psycho-thriller about two young artists entwined across time.
The Mad Women’s Ball (Le Bal des folles)
Directed by Mélanie Laurent | France
The latest from writer-director-actor Mélanie Laurent is a chilling tale of spectral visions and institutional abuse set in 19th-century France.
Night Raiders
Directed by Danis Goulet | Canada/New Zealand
Danis Goulet’s singular thriller draws on Canada’s ugly colonial legacy for a propulsive piece of genre cinema set in a dystopian postwar future.
One Second Closing Night Film
Directed by Zhang Yimou | China
Master director Zhang Yimou returns with his “love letter to cinema” in which a man escapes a labour camp for a glimpse of his beloved daughter.
The Survivor
Directed by Barry Levinson | USA/Canada/Hungary
Barry Levinson’s biographical drama stars Ben Foster as boxer Harry Haft, who looks to carry on after fighting to survive in WWII concentration camps.
Special Presentations
Ali & Ava
Directed by Clio Barnard | United Kingdom
The latest from acclaimed British writer-director Clio Barnard (The Selfish Giant) is a tumultuous, fiercely affecting working-class love story.
All My Puny Sorrows
Directed by Michael McGowan | Canada
Michael McGowan’s touching adaptation of Miriam Toews’ beloved novel about two sisters boasts a fine cast led by Alison Pill and Sarah Gadon.
Benediction
Directed by Terence Davies | United Kingdom
English auteur Terence Davies’ latest is an equally sombre and sumptuous portrait of 20th-century English poet and soldier Siegfried Sassoon.
Bergman Island
Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve | France
A melancholic meditation on love and creativity, French auteur Mia Hansen-Løve’s latest stars Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth as a filmmaking couple who go to the island of Fårö, where Ingmar Bergman spent the end of his life.
Charlotte
Directed by Eric Warin, Tahir Rana | Canada/France/Belgium
The remarkable true story of Charlotte Salomon, a German Jewish artist defying incredible odds to create a masterpiece during World War II.
Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over
Directed by Dave Wooley, David Heilbroner | USA
This inspiring documentary portrait chronicles the iconic singer’s fascinating six-decade career in both music and Black and LGBTQ activism.
Drive My Car
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan
Adapted from Haruki Murakami’s short story, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s film follows two lonely people who find the courage to face the past.
Encounter
Directed by Michael Pearce | United Kingdom/USA
A decorated Marine (Riz Ahmed) goes on a rescue mission to save his two young sons from an inhuman threat, in the latest from director Michael Pearce.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Directed by Michael Showalter | USA
Jessica Chastain stars as flamboyant televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in this humanizing portrait of the rise and fall of the Bakker network empire.
The Guilty
Directed by Antoine Fuqua | USA
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Antoine Fuqua’s thriller set over the course of a single morning in a 911 dispatch centre.
I’m Your Man
Directed by Maria Schrader | Germany
Maria Schrader’s unlikely sci-fi rom-com explores human relationships through the inquisitive eyes of a cyborg. Starring Dan Stevens and Maren Eggert.
Inexorable
Directed by Fabrice du Welz | Belgium/France
The latest from Fabrice du Welz (Alleluia) follows a bestselling novelist who moves into an eerie old mansion in search of inspiration.
Lakewood
Directed by Phillip Noyce | Canada
Naomi Watts stars in Phillip Noyce’s nerve-rattling thriller about a mother struggling to rescue her son from a school shooter.
The Middle Man
Directed by Bent Hamer | Norway/Canada/Germany/Denmark
In a town plagued by disaster, one man holds the job of breaking the worst news to its citizens, in director Bent Hamer’s latest oddball comedy.
Official Competition (Competencia Oficial)
Directed by Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat | Spain/Argentina
Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, and Oscar Martínez star in Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat’s ingenious, icy behind-the-scenes satire of moviemaking.
Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades)
Directed by Jacques Audiard | France
This vibrant tale of love and friendship pairs director Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone) and co-writer Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire).
Petite Maman
Directed by Céline Sciamma | France
Following a girl’s journey to her mother’s childhood home, French auteur Céline Sciamma’s latest is a tender tale of intergenerational connection.
The Starling
Directed by Theodore Melfi | USA
Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd and Kevin Kline star in Theodore Melfi’s bittersweet tale of a couple working their way toward the other side of grief.
The Story of My Wife
Directed by Ildikó Enyedi | Hungary/Germany/Italy/France
A cursed sea captain bets an associate that he will marry the first woman who enters the café. In walks Lizzy (Léa Seydoux), and the rest is history.
Three Floors (Tre Piani)
Directed by Nanni Moretti | Italy/France
The latest from Palme d’Or winner Nanni Moretti is a turbulent network narrative involving the residents of a Rome apartment complex.
Violet
Directed by Justine Bateman | USA
Olivia Munn stars in writer-director Justine Bateman’s feature debut, a formally daring, psychologically incisive portrait of a woman at a crossroads.
The Worst Person In The World (Verdens Verste Menneske)
Directed by Joachim Trier | Norway/France/Sweden/Denmark
The finale in Joachim Trier’s “Oslo Trilogy” follows a 30-year-old woman in the midst of an existential crisis as she navigates between career and romantic choices, and her own refusal to be defined — even by herself.
The festival runs from September 9-18. Ticket packages can still be purchased on the official TIFF website.
Part-time writer, part-time theatre nerd, full-time dork.
